Bring on Drive-thru Banking - 11/12/15

On this day in 1946, the first drive-thru bank was introduced at the Exchange National Bank of Chicago. The bank started with 10 drive-thru windows and a tradition that is continued across all physical banks today. This concept seems to have grown with the advent of fast food restaurants populating all across the nation. What we take for granted today has actually become a thing of the past because of technology.

Customers rarely visit banks today because the ease of use delivered via the internet. All major banks have taken advantage of the low bandwidth from digital currency and increased the security with online banking. Major disruptors like Paypal have made transacting online or virtually almost seamless in most cases. Startups such as Venmo have made money transfers between bank accounts and friends free for everyone. Lowering the cost of transactions is certainly the best way to ensure disruption in any market and we see this every day with new payment startups sprouting up.

The next time your employer sends a direct deposit or you buy anything online, think about the +60 years of financial innovation we have covered to make our lives simpler.

At the time of this commentary Vijar Kohli, his family and/or clients of Golden Door Asset Management held no positions in the stocks mentioned above — although positions can change at any time.

Vijar Kohli is also the publisher of CareStocks, a newsletter focusing in on healthcare services, medical equipment, technology and real estate stocks. More information to the newsletter can be found at www.carestocks.com.